Pants topper combination

ABSTRACT

A pants topper combination suitable to be operatively associated with a steam air finisher having a horizontal annular seat surrounding means for discharging a conditioning fluid such as steam and/or air upwardly of the seat, the topper combination including a hollow form disposed on the finisher seat and conveying the conditioning fluid for discharge to within a downwardly depending bag about which a pair of pants can be dressed, a front support and a movable rear support being provided inside the bag opening fully the waist of differing size pants, and the front support having vertically spaced support areas of differing size with the smallest area at the bottom so that even small pants can fit over the support areas, and the bag being free to inflate against the pants dressed thereon and having a vent open to the fly area of the pants.

United States Patent Buckley et al.

[ 1 Feb. 1,1972

[54] PANTS TOPPER COMBINATION [72] Inventors: Norman A. Buckley, Wauwatosa', Peter D.

Rasmussen, Cedarburg, both of Wis.

[73] Assignee: McGraw-Edison Company, Elgin, Ill

[22] Filed: Oct. 29, 1970 [2i] Appl. No.: 84,992

l/197l 3/197l OBoyle M22317 Piilola ..223/73 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Assistant Examiner-Geo. V. Larkin Attorney-Charles F. Lind [57] ABSTRACT A pants topper combination suitable to be operatively associated with a steam air finisher having a horizontal annular seat surrounding means for discharging a conditioning fluid such as steam and/or air upwardly of the seat, the topper combination including a hollow form disposed on the finisher seat and conveying the conditioning fluid for discharge to within a downwardly depending bag about which a pair of pants can be dressed, a front support and a movable rear support being provided inside the bag opening fully the waist of differing size pants, and the front support having vertically spaced support areas of differing size with the smallest area at the bottom so that even small pants can fit over the support areas, and the bag being free to inflate against the pants dressed thereon and having a vent open to the fly area of the pants.

16 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 1 EH2 SHEET 10F 2 awe/woes Parse D. PAsnascseM A oemw A Baa 15 Armxwev PANTS TOPPER COMBINATION A conventional steam air finisher has an upright humanlike form over which a garment like a coat, sweater, shirt orjacket can be dressed, and has means to discharge conditioning fluid of steam and/or air to within the garment to inflate it to its natural wrinkle-free shape. A conventional pants topper has a downwardly depending form over which the top open waist portion of pants are dressed, and likewise has means for discharging conditioning fluid to within the pants to inflate them.

This invention relates to and a main object of this invention is to provide a pants topper combination which can be used with the generally conventional steam air finisher in order to top on such finisher pants which are adapted to be supported in a depending generally vertical manner.

More detailed objects of this invention including providing a pants topper combination having an improved garment supporting means which can accommodate a wider range of pants sizes than was previously permitted; further having an improved support for the topper bag disposed to underlie the pants, which support allows the bag to be ballooned outwardly by the conditioning fluid to inflate the pants fully to its natural shape; and further having more effective penetration at key areas of the pants and rapid bag collapsing after the finishing.

These and other objects of this invention will be more fully understood and appreciated after referring to the following specification, the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein:

FIG. I is an elevational sectional view of a typical steam air finisher and the subject pant topper combination mounted operatively in place thereon;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view as seen generally from line 2-2 in FIG. 1, except with part of the structure being broken away for clarity of disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view corresponding generally to FIG. 1, again being partly broken away for improved disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the topper, again having part of the structure broken away.

in the drawings, the disclosed operative unit includes a steam air finisher 12 of conventional construction and a pants topper adapter or combination unit [4. The finisher 12 has a base 16 mounting thereon a blower [8 which has its outlet discharging through passage 20 and up and out opening 22 within annular seat 23. Steampipe 24 is connected from a steam source (not shown) for discharging steam generally upwardly of the opening 22.

When used as a steam air finisher, a frame (not shown) is mounted over the opening and supported on the seat 23 and is shaped so that a garment or the like can be dressed thereon and supported in a natural configuration. A flexible cloth sleeve or the like (not shown) normally surrounds the frame and extends upwardly from over the opening to help direct the conditioning fluid up to under the garment as well as to keep the garment from direct contact with the finisher hardware. Selective controls for the blower and the steam are provided so that typically steam is discharged initially, followed by air and steam together if desired, and lastly air alone is discharged. The steam conditions the garment by moistening it and the air typically being heated by passing over heat exchanger 26 dries the garment.

The adapter 14 has a hollow vertical post 30 that communicates at its upper end with a hollow horizontal arm 32. A bag 34 depends from the free end of the arm 32 over a front support 36 that is secured to the forward end of the arm 32 and over a movable rear support 38. The front support has an upper rigid plate 39 and lower spaced wire type arms 40 that extend almost to the bottom of the bag. A track 42 is supported from the underside of the arm 32 and carries a slide member 44 which in turn supports the rear support 38 inside the bag 34. Negator spring 46 tends to shift the rear support 38 away from the front support and a front latch 48 normally biased by spring 49 to the set position is suited to hold the rear support in its dressing and undressing position adjacent the front support. Rear bag collapsing arms 50 are carried on the rear support 38 free to pivot forwardly about a horizontal axis but are restrained against rearward pivoting beyond a certain point by engagement with the rear support. The bag is connected by ties $1 to the bottom end of the arms 50. The bag 34 is also secured by ties 52 to the bottom ends of the front support arms 40, which hold the bag down but yet permit the remaining front part of the bag to balloon forwardly when under pressure. The bag has an opening 53, and the bag is connected to the arm 32 with this opening communicating through opening in the lower arm face just rearwardly of the front support 36. Consequently, conditioning fluid discharge from the finisher l2 inflates the bag.

Pants are adapted to be disposed over the bag with the waist buttoned or snapped closed whereupon release of latch 48 permits the rear support 38 to be biased rearwards by spring 46 to draw the waist tight and hold the pants in place on the supports. The conditioning fluid discharged from the finisher 12 is conveyed through the hollow post 30 and arm 32 to within the bag 34 to balloon the bag out until restrained by the overlying pants. The bag is somewhat porous and moreover has a front vent 54 so that the fluid penetrates into the garment. The bag vent 54 is located laterally between the spaced front support arms 40 and underlying what would normally be the multiple ply fly area of the pants to condition the fly area and the front lap area of the pants completely for greatly improved finishing. Because the bag is really not restrained except at opening 53 it is free to inflate in all directions to inflate the front lap area of the pants, the hips and rear seat portions of the pants to the fullest and to remove the wrinkles therefrom.

After the finishing cycle, the operator shifts the rear support 38 manually forward to set the latch 48 and thereby hold the waist supports collapsed. The rear arms 50 collapse the bag and the remaining excess fluid in the bag is exhausted through vent 54. Thereafter the pants can be removed from the topper for finishing on a legger machine or the like, which is of no concern to the subject invention.

To assist the operator in rapidly topping on the device disclosed herein, a pants leg holding tray 60 is provided at the front of the unit 14. The tray 60 has spaced arm portions 62 and a fabric net 64 which underlies the pants dressed on the support and holds the legs off the floor. The arms 62 are biased toward one another with the usual resiliency of metal and are received in sockets 66 formed in the post 30. The arms extend horizontally when the same rest against the flared bottom of the frame and support the tray under the pants legs, while further can be pivoted about the sockets and be held up by a bracket 68. The tray 60 can also be removed from the unit completely by flexing the arms 62 apart slightly to remove them from the sockets 66.

The unit 14 can be formed economically of plastic such as by molding the same in two halves connected together at longitudinal seams 70. The unit further being of plastic, eliminates or minimizes most problems resulting from corrosion and/or steam condensation. Moreover, the plastic unit is lightweight and can be readily lifted, a handle 72 being provided to assist the user in lifting it on and off the finisher 12. A center cross brace 74 is provided inside the hollow vertical post 30 for positively locating the unit relative to a vertical pipe 76 which is somewhat conventional in steam air finishers, being part of the steam discharge means. A door 78 closes an inspection opening located on the rear side of the post 30.

It has been found most advantageous to restrain the rearward movement of the springbiased rear support by the use of a drawstring 79 extending between the front and rear supports. The string is tied to snap tight to stop the rear travel just before the bag is drawn tight at its top. This lengthens the bag life as well as prevents slamming of the waist-tightening structure if the latch were released with no parts dressed over the bag.

Of great concern in the subject invention is a multiple size lateral width front support. Thus the top part 80 of the support plate 39 is of a certain lateral width which can fit inside the waist of large pants, whereas a short distance below these supports 80 there is located a second pair of supports 82 of smaller lateral size. The support area 82 being smaller than support area 80 can thus fit into the waist of smaller pants even down to ladies and children's sizes. The bag in the area adjacent the shoulder between the supports 80 and 82 is provided with an expandable pocket 84 which serves to keep the bag whole under full bag inflation as well as permits smaller pants to be drawn tightly around supports 82. The particular bag construction includes a horizontal slit 86 extended slightly beyond the underlying spaces support areas 80 and 82, while behind the bag slit and within the bag, a slit tubular element 88 is sewed to the respective bag edges adjacent the slit and which moreover extends as open ended tubes beyond the bag slit. Consequently when a pair of pants are dressed over the lower smaller support 82 the tubular section 88 unfolds slightly to accommodate the lateral movement of the lower bag edge relative to the upper slit bag edge. The extended ends of the tube 88 prevents the liner from being blown out of the bag slit even if the bag were inflated without any pants in place thereon.

The particular invention permits with a relatively small capital investment the conversion of a steam air finisher to a pants topper. The advantage is more than doubled since typically neither a steam air finisher nor a pants topper is used all of the time but is typically operated only 1 or 2 hours per day as the accumulation of like garments merits it. With this conversion unit, therefore, a significant greater use can be achieved from the same basic finisher and with significantly less capital investment than would be required for having two separate machines. Moreover, the dependability of the single steam air finisher and the relatively foolproof topper combination greatly enhances the dependability of the unit overall for both finishing and topping.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a steam air finisher having means for discharging a conditioning fluid such as air and/or steam and an upwardly facing annular seat surrounding the discharging means; and a pants topper for the finisher adapted to be supported on and generally sealed relative to the annular seat, said topper having a hollow form including a hollow arm defining an internal passage for the discharge from the finisher discharging means to a downwardly disposed opening located at the free end of the arm, a from support secured to the arm forwardly of the opening and depending downwardly therefrom and a rear support secured to the arm intermediate its ends and being adapted to move adjustably toward and away from the front support, and a bag disposed over the front and rear supports and being secured relative thereto and communicating with the arm opening operable upon discharge of the conditioning fluid from the finisher discharging means to inflate to the fullest extent possible as determined by the size pants dressed over the bag.

2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein the front support consists in part of an upper rigid element which depends downwardly from the arm only a short distance and laterally narrow and spaced lower elements which depend downwardly from the upper element additional distances toward the bottom of the bag.

3. A combination according to claim 2, wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally spaced from and between the spaced narrow lower support elements vent openings from the bag interior.

4. A combination according to claim 1, wherein the front support includes a rigid upper element that depends downwardly from the arm a short distance into the bag and where the support element has a first pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas and a second pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas of narrower width disposed below the first pair of support areas.

5. A combination according to claim 4, wherein the bag has provided therein expandable means adjacent the transition between the first and second pairs of support areas suitable to permit give of the bag to conform to the inside of varying size pants as might be disposed over the selective pairs of support areas.

6. For use with a steam air finisher having a base including an annular seat defining an upwardly disposed outlet opening, and means for discharging a conditioning fluid such as air/or steam upwardly of the outlet opening, a pants topper for converting the finisher to top pants, the topper having a hollow arm with a downwardly disposed discharge opening at the free end of the arm, front and rear supports carried by the arm forward and rearwardly, respectively of the discharge opening and depending downwardly therefrom and a bag disposed over the front and rear supports and having an opening communicating with the arm discharge opening, said topper also having a hollow post including a downwardly disposed face adapted to be supported on the finisher seat generally and defining a through passageway with and through the hollow arm to the discharge opening, whereby discharge of the conditioning fluid from the finisher operates to inflate the bag to expand the pants dressed over the bag to full size.

7. A pants topper according to claim 6, wherein means mounted on the under side of the arm carry the rear support for adjustable movement toward and away from the front support, wherein a spring normally tends to bias the rear support away from the front support, and wherein string means connected to the rear support limits rearward movement of same away from the from support.

8. A pants topper according to claim 6, wherein the front support includes laterally narrow and spaced elements which depend in a direction downwardly from the arm toward the bottom of the bag, and wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally spaced from and between the spaced narrow support elements vent openings from the bag interior.

9. A pants topper according to claim 6, wherein the front support includes an upper element that depends downwardly from the arm a short distance into the bag and where the support element has a first pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas and a second pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas of narrower width disposed below the first pair of support areas, and wherein the bag has provided therein expandable means adjacent the transition between the first and second pairs of support areas suitable to permit give of the bag to conform to the inside of varying size pants as might be disposed over the selective pairs of support areas.

10. A pants topper according to claim 9, wherein the front support also includes laterally spaced and narrow lower elements which depend in a downward direction toward the bottom of the bag from the upper element, and wherein means connect the bag relative to the lower elements only near the lower ends thereof.

ll. In combination with a pants topper having a horizontally disposed arm with a downwardly facing discharge opening at the free end of the arm, a front support secured to the arm forwardly of the discharge opening and depending downwardly therefrom, a rear support and means to carry the rear support relative to the underside of the arm rearwardly of the discharge opening for movement adjustably toward and away from the front support, and a bag disposed over the front and rear supports and adapted to fit within the top of pants dressed thereon and having an opening including a peripheral edge that is secured to the arm and communicating with the arm discharge opening, the improvement being at least two pairs of horizontally aligned vertically displaced support areas cooperating as between the front and rear supports, the lower pair of support areas being smaller in overall circumference than the upper pair of support areas suitable to receive and ac commodate the support thereon of pants of smaller size than on the upper pair of support areas.

l2. A combination according to claim ll, wherein the front support consists in part of an upper rigid element which depends downwardly from the arm only a short distance which forms part of the upper support areas, and laterally narrow and spaced lower elements which depend downwardly from the upper element additional distances toward the bottom of the bag 13. A combination according to claim 12, wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally spaced from and between the spaced narrow lower support elements vent openings from the bag interior.

M. A combination according to claim 11, wherein the front support includes a rigid upper element that depends downwardly from the arm a short distance into the bag and where the support element has a first pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support edges in part corresponding to the upper support areas and a second pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support edges in part corresponding to the lower areas.

15. A combination according to claim 14, wherein the bag has provided therein expandable means adjacent the transition between the first and second pairs of support edges suitable to permit give of the bag to conform to the inside of varying size pants as might be disposed over the selective pairs of support areas.

16. A pants topper according to claim [5, wherein the from support further includes narrow laterally spaced elements which depend in a direction downwardly from the arm further toward the bottom of the bag than the rigid upper element, and wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally of the narrow support elements vent openings from the bag interior. 

1. In combination, a steam air finisher having means for discharging a conditioning fluid such as air and/or steam and an upwardly facing annular seat surrounding the diScharging means; and a pants topper for the finisher adapted to be supported on and generally sealed relative to the annular seat, said topper having a hollow form including a hollow arm defining an internal passage for the discharge from the finisher discharging means to a downwardly disposed opening located at the free end of the arm, a front support secured to the arm forwardly of the opening and depending downwardly therefrom and a rear support secured to the arm intermediate its ends and being adapted to move adjustably toward and away from the front support, and a bag disposed over the front and rear supports and being secured relative thereto and communicating with the arm opening operable upon discharge of the conditioning fluid from the finisher discharging means to inflate to the fullest extent possible as determined by the size pants dressed over the bag.
 2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein the front support consists in part of an upper rigid element which depends downwardly from the arm only a short distance and laterally narrow and spaced lower elements which depend downwardly from the upper element additional distances toward the bottom of the bag.
 3. A combination according to claim 2, wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally spaced from and between the spaced narrow lower support elements vent openings from the bag interior.
 4. A combination according to claim 1, wherein the front support includes a rigid upper element that depends downwardly from the arm a short distance into the bag and where the support element has a first pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas and a second pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas of narrower width disposed below the first pair of support areas.
 5. A combination according to claim 4, wherein the bag has provided therein expandable means adjacent the transition between the first and second pairs of support areas suitable to permit give of the bag to conform to the inside of varying size pants as might be disposed over the selective pairs of support areas.
 6. For use with a steam air finisher having a base including an annular seat defining an upwardly disposed outlet opening, and means for discharging a conditioning fluid such as air/or steam upwardly of the outlet opening, a pants topper for converting the finisher to top pants, the topper having a hollow arm with a downwardly disposed discharge opening at the free end of the arm, front and rear supports carried by the arm forward and rearwardly, respectively of the discharge opening and depending downwardly therefrom and a bag disposed over the front and rear supports and having an opening communicating with the arm discharge opening, said topper also having a hollow post including a downwardly disposed face adapted to be supported on the finisher seat generally and defining a through passageway with and through the hollow arm to the discharge opening, whereby discharge of the conditioning fluid from the finisher operates to inflate the bag to expand the pants dressed over the bag to full size.
 7. A pants topper according to claim 6, wherein means mounted on the under side of the arm carry the rear support for adjustable movement toward and away from the front support, wherein a spring normally tends to bias the rear support away from the front support, and wherein string means connected to the rear support limits rearward movement of same away from the front support.
 8. A pants topper according to claim 6, wherein the front support includes laterally narrow and spaced elements which depend in a direction downwardly from the arm toward the bottom of the bag, and wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally spaced from and between the spaced narrow support elements vent openings from the bag interior.
 9. A pants topper according to claim 6, wherein the front support includes an upper element that depends downwardly from the arm a short distAnce into the bag and where the support element has a first pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas and a second pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support areas of narrower width disposed below the first pair of support areas, and wherein the bag has provided therein expandable means adjacent the transition between the first and second pairs of support areas suitable to permit give of the bag to conform to the inside of varying size pants as might be disposed over the selective pairs of support areas.
 10. A pants topper according to claim 9, wherein the front support also includes laterally spaced and narrow lower elements which depend in a downward direction toward the bottom of the bag from the upper element, and wherein means connect the bag relative to the lower elements only near the lower ends thereof.
 11. In combination with a pants topper having a horizontally disposed arm with a downwardly facing discharge opening at the free end of the arm, a front support secured to the arm forwardly of the discharge opening and depending downwardly therefrom, a rear support and means to carry the rear support relative to the underside of the arm rearwardly of the discharge opening for movement adjustably toward and away from the front support, and a bag disposed over the front and rear supports and adapted to fit within the top of pants dressed thereon and having an opening including a peripheral edge that is secured to the arm and communicating with the arm discharge opening, the improvement being at least two pairs of horizontally aligned vertically displaced support areas cooperating as between the front and rear supports, the lower pair of support areas being smaller in overall circumference than the upper pair of support areas suitable to receive and accommodate the support thereon of pants of smaller size than on the upper pair of support areas.
 12. A combination according to claim 11, wherein the front support consists in part of an upper rigid element which depends downwardly from the arm only a short distance which forms part of the upper support areas, and laterally narrow and spaced lower elements which depend downwardly from the upper element additional distances toward the bottom of the bag.
 13. A combination according to claim 12, wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally spaced from and between the spaced narrow lower support elements vent openings from the bag interior.
 14. A combination according to claim 11, wherein the front support includes a rigid upper element that depends downwardly from the arm a short distance into the bag and where the support element has a first pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support edges in part corresponding to the upper support areas and a second pair of laterally spaced and horizontally aligned support edges in part corresponding to the lower areas.
 15. A combination according to claim 14, wherein the bag has provided therein expandable means adjacent the transition between the first and second pairs of support edges suitable to permit give of the bag to conform to the inside of varying size pants as might be disposed over the selective pairs of support areas.
 16. A pants topper according to claim 15, wherein the front support further includes narrow laterally spaced elements which depend in a direction downwardly from the arm further toward the bottom of the bag than the rigid upper element, and wherein the bag has provided therein at a location disposed laterally of the narrow support elements vent openings from the bag interior. 